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Council to take up dispute regarding The Columbia Inn at Peralynna

Carole Klawansky, who lives next door to The Columbia Inn at Peralynna Manor, filed a complaint against the owners four years about the outdoor events.
Carole Klawansky, who lives next door to The Columbia Inn at Peralynna Manor, filed a complaint against the owners four years about the outdoor events. (Staff photo by Sarah Pastrana)

The Columbia Inn at Peralynna has been operating for several years without the appropriate zoning approval or support from its neighbors, who have complained about noise, overflow parking and excess trash.

Now, owners Cynthia and David Lynn are seeking a resolution.

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On Monday, Feb. 6, the County Council introduced legislation at the request of the Lynns to amend the county's zoning regulations to create a conditional use (special zoning exception) for boutique hotels. Department of Planning and Zoning director Marsha McLaughlin said this resolution was proposed after lengthy discussions with the Lynns and the neighbors and is designed to make both parties "feel more comfortable."

Neighbors surrounding the inn, located on a 1.3-acre plot of land off Route 108 in Columbia, don't agree on the resolution. What they do agree on, however, is the type of neighbors the Lynns are.

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"They have been anything but good neighbors," said Carole Klawansky, who lives directly to the east of Peralynna.

"They're just loud, noisy, inconsiderate, self-centered people who could not care about anybody besides themselves," said Susan Robertson, who lives to the west of the inn.

McLaughlin said the Lynns have been operating for the last year according to the criteria laid out in the bill. The bill specifies that a conditional use for a boutique hotel may be granted in an R-12 (residential) zoning district if the property is between one and two acres; the hotel has between 15 and 20 rooms; and the property owners do not operate a public restaurant or hold outdoor social assemblies, like weddings.

In the late 1990s, the Lynns turned their home into a boarding house, targeting long-term guests. They had the zoning approval to do so until late 2001, when changes to the county's zoning laws left Peralynna as a nonconforming use. Their options were to seek a new zoning approval or continue to follow the boarding house zoning rules.

County Council chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, a Columbia Democrat who represents the Lynns and their neighbors, said issues arose because Peralynna operated "outside of the realm of what they were allowed to do."

"They basically turned the place into an events venue and hotel," she said. "It was causing a great deal of problems in the neighborhood, especially with parking and outdoor weddings."

'Series of zoning violations'

Added Sigaty: "There were a series of zoning violations."

One of the zoning violations was issued four years ago after Klawansky filed a complaint against the Lynns for holding outdoor events.

"Their property sits on top of my house, so it was like having all these voyeurs in my backyard," Klawansky said.

Though Klawansky said she doesn't support the Lynns and doesn't want to live next to a boutique hotel, she is supporting the legislation as a way to put the issue to rest.

"The community, our backs are really against the wall," Klawansky said. "If it doesn't get on the books as a boutique hotel ... we continue to be in limbo."

Klawansky said she sees several reasons why the Lynns need to bring their property into compliance with current zoning law: The Lynns would be able to sell their property; if the Lynns keep the property, the boutique hotel conditional use would dictate what they can and cannot do on the property; and should Klawansky ever decide to sell her property, a potential buyer won't have to worry about "an out of control situation."

Joel Barry Brown, a retired real estate developer who also lives to the east of the inn, also supports the creation of the boutique hotel conditional use.

"It would be nice to have this problem solved," he said. "And what I think on a personal basis what would be nicer is if the Lynns sold the property."

On the west side of Peralynna, Robertson said she and another nine families that live on Hesperus Drive oppose the legislation.

"There's no room for an inn, let alone a boutique hotel — and who knows what that can blossom into — on such a small plot of land," Robertson said. "A boutique hotel should be at least three acres."

Robertson said she had no problem when the Lynns ran a "simplistic" business.

"It was a nice concept to have a non-transient, home environment (for people) to stay in," she said. "It's not that anymore. From simplistic, it went to extravaganza."

Unlike the neighbors to the east of Peralynna, Robertson does not find comfort in the idea of the Lynns selling the property.

"I know this is the reason they want to have it as a boutique hotel, so they can sell it off to a national brand, and that's going to make it even worse," she said. "That would be like opening a pandora's box."

A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the George Howard building in Ellicott City, and the council is scheduled to vote on the bill March 5. If the bill is passed, the Lynns still would have to go before the county hearing examiner to get the conditional use approval to operate as a boutique hotel.

Reached by phone, David Lynn deferred comment to his wife, Cynthia, who deferred comment to their attorney, Richard Talkin. Talkin declined to comment, noting he doesn't discuss his cases.

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